I want to become a great actor, says Allu Arjun

Allu Arjun on Rudhramadevi, life beyond the movies and why multi-starrers will soon rule the roost across India

Allu Arjun is not really nervous about Rudhramadevi’s release today. In fact, he says he’s a little curious. “I’m not playing the lead in the film so, no tensions. But I’m very curious how the movie will turn out... I have done this special role with what I believe are genuinely good intentions... to support a film that aims to tell stories from Telugu history, our culture and tradition. So, I’m curious... I want to know how the audience will receive the movie.”

Allu Arjun, however, did a bit more than just step in with good intentions. He played the role of Gona Gannareddy — a prominent chieftain under Queen Rudhramadevi’s rule — for free! Director-producer Gunasekhar and the actor’s gesture saved the movie from imminent death. “The film was stopped because no one had come forward to play this special character. After I heard about the problem, I called up Gunasekhar and told him I was willing to do it. He then asked me about my salary but I told him to not worry about that... some roles are more important than just money.”

The actor then spent his time reading up on Gona Gannareddy. “We don’t even have sketches of this man. He was sort of like Robin Hood and from whatever literature we were able to gather, we decided on a costume and its colour.”

Rudhramadevi is also releasing in other languages — Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi. “But I don’t want to say it’s just a Telugu film. It’s about how strong our women are. This story is from the 13th century and this woman (warrior queen Rudhramadevi) showed the world that there could be a female ruler.” The film’s release was not easy either as it opened in a crowded month, with major releases following soon. “That was our mistake. The film was supposed to release earlier but was postponed a few times. So, it wasn’t possible for others to delay releases,” he says.

Allu Arjun is also one of those who currently enjoys a cross-border fan base. In Kerala, for example, he’s actually a fashion icon and the actor is attempting a few changes in his operations to tap into the growing Malayali fan base. “Yeah, I am very much keeping an eye on the market there. So, for my upcoming films I want to rope in a Malayalam actor for a character,” he says.

Bollywood however, is still an “unnecessary risk”.  “All of us can test waters in Mumbai. But keep in mind this: We will have to completely leave the Telugu industry and focus for at least five to ten years to develop a career there. So, it’s not really practical or recommended... which is why many of us don’t take up the Hindi film industry. You need guts and more importantly, a willingness to leave everything behind.”

But the actor also feels equations are changing.  “I feel Bollywood is slowly recognising the South as a major market. Soon, the best of actors from Bollywood and the South could team up and create these massive, multi-starrer, multi-language films that will run in theatres across states — no more boundaries. This is happening and in another three to four years we should be seeing a final product.”

Being a father and the future: “I’m enjoying this phase. But my regret is that I can’t take my son out to regular places like regular dads. That hurts. My wife takes him shopping though as she’s not much of a Page 3 personality but yeah, I miss taking him out. Poeple come up and ask if they can take a photo of him but I politely refuse. He’s still very young and doesn’t know his father acts for a living.”

The future, too, is on his mind and the discussion later turned towards a 20-year plan. “Not 20, but after 40 years I want to be known as a great actor. Currently, we have good actors but not great actors. So, the Telugu Film Industry has been “importing” actors from outside.”

The level of bonhomie within the industry is also rather immediate, even if there were no previous ties. Here’s what happened. Mahesh Babu in an interview had said nobody, except Ram Charan, nobody had called him to wish him after Srimanthudu’s success. “But as soon as I saw the comment, I immediately called him to convey my congratulations. We don’t really have a personal rapport and we’ve never met each other. I did ask someone to convey my regards to Mahesh as soon as I had watched his movie but then I’m not too sure if the person had done that.”